Our School

Welcome to Beaverdam Elementary School, a nationally recognized, No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School! Located in the northwestern corner of Hanover County, our outstanding faculty and staff take pride in providing challenging and innovative learning experiences for our students in a warm and nurturing environment.

Office Hours

Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m.–4:15 p.m.

Regular School Hours

Developing Student Leaders

At Beaverdam, we are developing the next generation of leaders. Our students and teachers synergize to succeed as good citizens, thoughtful learners, and confident leaders. One of the ways we do this is through student leadership opportunities, including our Student Council Association (SCA).

SCA is a representative, student-run club that exists for other students. Every year, SCA sponsors several school-wide activities to build community and boost school spirit, including the following:

Another leadership opportunity available to all students is our One School One Book initiative. Thanks in part to a grant from the Hanover Education Foundation, this program provides multiple copies of the same book to our Beaverdam family so that every child may read and discuss it with his/her family. Daily classroom activities surround our One School One Book initiative, encouraging students to take ownership of developing a learning community, both in and out of the classroom.

History of Excellence

Originally built in 1906, Beaverdam School has a history of academic excellence. As a community school housing grades one through 11, the last Beaverdam High School class graduated in 1959. The school building then became Beaverdam Elementary and educated students up to seventh grade. Our first kindergarten class was added in 1972, and 10 years later, six and seventh graders were transferred to Liberty Middle School. In 1984, the old school was renovated, and it reopened for students from three attendance zones in 1985. Since that time, Beaverdam Elementary continues to build on its history of educational excellence through innovative instructional practices, a current technology infrastructure, and teacher training.

Instruction

BES has initiated several new instructional approaches and programs in its quest to address the specific needs of each child. In 1992, Beaverdam Elementary was selected by the Virginia Department of Education to become an Early-Childhood Demonstration Site. Through research-based development sessions and summer seminars, our faculty became experts in the areas of child growth and development to identify developmentally appropriate instructional practices. Today, we continue that tradition through Leader in Me.

Technology

In the early 1990’s BES was selected by Hanover County to be a Model Elementary School for technology. At that time, we installed a state-of-the-art computer network and later expanded it to over 100 workstations. Programs from IBM's Teaching and Learning with Computers gave both students and teachers access to a variety of instructional software and the Internet. In 2000, Capital One donated 90 new computers to our school, which greatly enhanced our capabilities. Thanks to these and other community partnerships, Beaverdam continues to be a leader in educational technology. Last year, we built a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) Lab for students to experience hands-on, relevant lessons in the STEM disciplines.

Teacher Training

Starting in the fall of 1993, due to its designation as an Early Childhood Demonstration Site and Model School for technology, Beaverdam received many site visits from school districts throughout the Commonwealth. Soon, we were known as a Professional Development School in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University. Then, in May of 1997, with the support of our parents and community, Beaverdam Elementary School was selected as a National Blue Ribbon School!

We are proud of our school and look forward to what the coming years bring!